Activities

Report from the International Executive Committee (IEC) meeting of the
Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI), November 2001.

2001 - A Turning Point in World Events

Introduction

The Committee for a Workers’ International is a socialist international
organisation with sections and groups in over 35 countries. The CWI is a
democratic socialist organisation. Its bodies are elected by the
membership at a national and international level. The International
Executive Committee, made up of members from the sections, is elected by
the world congress. The main role of the IEC is to provide political
guidance in between world congresses.

A meeting of the IEC body took place from 19-24 November 2001, in
Belgium. There were representatives from Austria, Belgium, the CIS,
England and Wales, France, Germany, India, Ireland (North and South),
Israel, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Australia and the US.
Apologies were given from comrades from different areas of the world,
where often CWI sections are fully involved in campaigns. These included
Sri Lanka, where the CWI section, the United Socialist Party, was busy
fighting elections. A visitor from the ‘Socialism’ Turkish Trotskyist
group was also present at the meeting.

The IEC meeting was held less than a week after the Northern Alliance
had conquered Kabul, a decisive turning point in the US-led war in
Afghanistan. European IEC members had met in the beginning of October,
but this was the first full IEC meeting since the September 11 events in
the US. These major world events, including the global economic crisis,
put their mark on the discussions on perspectives, tasks and the need
for a socialist programme.

Most CWI sections reported important progress in the recent period, most
notably Nigeria, South Africa and Belgium. The November meeting agreed
to organise a world congress next year and to fully back the launching
of a new youth movement, International Socialist Resistance.

The following is a summary of the main discussions held at the IEC
meeting. It has been written by Per-Åke, a Swedish IEC member.

The present international situation

"Nobody could have predicted the speed of events in the war in
Afghanistan", was how Peter Taaffe from the International Secretariat
(IS) of the CWI began his introduction to the major discussion on the
present world crisis. After the relatively quiet political period of the
1990s, extreme speed and sharp turns are back as main factors in world
development, particularly since September 11th.

Peter Taaffe, and others speakers, showed the contrast between the ideas
of the CWI and others during the war. Some Left groups claimed that the
Taliban "represented progress", others gave them "critical support", and
others again refused to condemn the terror attack in New York. The CWI
took a clear position against the US war, at the same time showing the
completely reactionary nature of the terror attacks and their
consequences. "The rise of right-wing fundamentalist Islam is a reaction
to the failure of Stalinism and Arab nationalism", said Peter Taaffe.
"Those who seek united work with the fundamentalists repeat the mistakes
of the Tudeh party (communist party of Iran) during the Iranian
revolution 1979.Their support for Khomeini ended in them being
slaughtered".

During the meeting we received reports that the Taliban were fighting
their final battles in Kunduz and that the endgame for Kandahar had
begun. "The US will come out of the war as the winner", concluded Peter
Taaffe, but that will also increase the already strong anti-American
feelings, particularly in the ‘Third World’. "US imperialism will be
strengthened by these events, but for how long and which character this
will take it is to soon to say". Bush will soar to highs in the opinion
polls, but there is no "peace dividend" to bring home. There is the
"shadow of war" in Palestine-Israel. Fundamentalist opposition threatens
weak Arabic regimes.

On the world economy, there was general agreement that the world
recession is only in its early stages. The International Labour
Organisation forecasts that 24 million workers will lose their jobs next
year. The social crisis and pauperisation in Argentina and Turkey are
pointers to developments in other countries that are entering the early
stages of economic and social crisis.

The spectacular election results for revolutionary Left parties in
Argentina are an indication of future events. They won more than one
million votes and three seats in parliament. The traditional parties
collapsed and "vote blanca" received 30% of the votes.

The new global movement of anti-capitalists and critics of
neo-liberalism, by and large, became an anti-war movement during the
autumn. The exception was some of its leaders, who supported the US war.
This movement, mainly made up of youth who have won the sympathy of many
workers, shook the establishment and the ruling classes with its mass
demonstrations from Seattle to Genoa. With the end of this phase of the
war, attention will again turn to the economic and social issues: the
role of US imperialism and its agencies – the IMF, World Bank etc. - in
exploiting and oppressing. Alongside this we will see new battles of the
working class. This will form fertile ground for genuine revolutionary
socialist ideas to get a wider echo.

Other important items discussed in this session were the new
"anti-terrorist" laws proposed by rulers all over the globe; the change
in relations between the powers, and an analysis of workers’ struggles
in Italy (against Berlusconi), Belgium (over the Sabena bankruptcy) and
other countries.

It is not possible to fully describe the week long IEC discussions in
the space given here. This report should be read alongside the latest
CWI statements on the war and world events (on the CWI web site). Here
follows brief extracts from contributions in this session. In total, 24
comrades made in-depth contributions.

Alan (US) relayed that unemployment had reached several millions in the
US, with an additional 4.2 million people declared part time unemployed.

Rob (CIS) reported on the big effects of September 11 in Russia and
other parts of former Soviet Union. "The most important factor for
Putin’s actions has been the fear of the war spreading and causing new
mass waves of refugees. Putin supported the US war when he was given a
free hand to support the Northern Alliance and to attack Chechnya. A
further condition was a promise that Russia can enter the World Trade
Organisation, WTO". Capital outflow continues to be around $1.5 billion
a year. The power of the president is increasing, and all three major
opposition parties are supporting him. The fall in the oil price will
undermine the state budget.

Kevin (IS) raised the prospect of the return of hundreds or thousands of
Islamic fighters from Afghanistan to Kashmir and the western states of
Pakistan. The result of this war in Afghanistan constitutes a defeat for
the Pakistan army, which will have far-reaching consequences.

After Bangladesh separated from Pakistan in 1971, the military in
Pakistan took a more nationalistic and Islamic outlook. The military
consists of different ethnic and tribal groups with the common interest
of holding on to power. There could be a move by some in the military to
replace Musharraf, who has no real base in any ethnic group within the
army. The main figure in the army is Aziz Khan, who was responsible for
the Kargil affair 1999, and who is in charge of the extreme Muslim
organisation LET.

Kevin also stressed that Islamic fundamentalism is rooted in the
desperation of big layers of society who have nothing and are without
alternatives. So, despite the defeat of the Taliban, there can still be
a tendency in the direction of increased support for fundamentalism.
These movements can overthrow old regimes but the Islamic fundamentalist
governments will not be stable or sustainable.

Judy (England and Wales) pointed to the fact that world trade growth was
12% last year. The WTO prognosis for 2001 is 2%, with the UN estimating
zero growth.

Arne (Sweden) underlined the complexities of globalisation. On the one
hand there is a growing interventionist approach, including
neo-Keynesian tax cuts, by a number of governments. On the other hand,
further steps towards new international relations between the US, Russia
and China are taking place. Also, we will soon see the introduction of
the euro currency and a possible "big bang" EU enlargement of member
states.

Per (IS) concluded that the Afghan conflict would reinforce the US
military doctrine that air strikes are sufficient to win a war. The US
accounts for 36% of the world’s military spending. US ruling class
triumphalism threatens the real possibility of new attacks on Iraq to
"finish the war of 1991" and to overthrow Saddam.

Rotimi (Nigeria) stressed that it is wrong to believe in a decline of
Islamic fundamentalism on the basis of a defeat of the Taliban. Their
rising support is rooted in the worsening economic conditions. In
Nigeria, the fundamentalists get support as a reaction against
unemployment, corruption, violence, alcohol consumption, prostitution
and so on. These are problems the fundamentalists promise to abolish.
Those who have never lived in an Islamic state still have illusions in
one. Whether the Islamic fundamentalists are able to take power or not
depends on several factors, especially the ability of the working class
to offer an alternative.

Jagadish (India) noted the high number of visits to India and Pakistan
by Blair, Powell, Rumsfeld etc, who all "said what Musharraf and
Vajpayee wanted to hear". With these ongoing contradictory promises, the
time bomb is still ticking. The Indian government has used the US attack
on Afghanistan to say that "we could do the same in crossing the line of
control" in Kashmir (defence minister Fernandez). A new military
conflict with Pakistan is not ruled out. The BJP government is preparing
for draconian laws "against terrorism", including six months’ arrest of
suspects without trial. The law is used to ban an Islamic students’
organisation, whose chairperson was arrested in mid-October. The
anti-Islamic rhetoric has been used to block workers protests that were
developing in the autumn.

Philip (US) spoke on some of the class questions that have arisen in the
US following September 11. "The Congress was closed following suspected
anthrax, but not the post offices". This meant postal workers died as a
result of contamination. Bush’s packages to stimulate the economy give
most to big corporations and the rich.

A. (Israel) reported on Hamas winning the student elections at the
university in Nablus, with 60% of the votes.

Weizmann (South Africa), was one of several comrades who referred to
discussions with youth who were in favour of the terror attacks on
September 11. Similar reports came from Greece, India, and Nigeria and
among Muslims in different countries. The reply from comrades was to
show the reactionary results of the attack in strengthening US
imperialism and the Bush administration. The fundamentalists are also a
threat to workers and youth fighting for their future.

The discussion on the international situation was closed by Lynn Walsh
from the IS, who summarised the main trends. "The Taliban is finished as
a ruling power in Afghanistan". We should not rule out further fighting,
but the Taliban was a product of a certain conjuncture in Afghanistan".
There could be a temporary stabilisation in Afghanistan, but in the long
run the war has created an unstable world. The US will now proceed to
increase pressure on Iraq.

Lynn stressed that the economic crisis is already the most serious since
1945. The US response could be an attempt to protect the national
interests of the ruling class, with, for example, measures against the
outflow of capital. This would increase contradictions between trading
blocs and trading groups.

The anti-capitalist and anti-war movement

This session, introduced by Kevin (IS), included reports and analysis of
the global movement against capitalism since the WTO meeting in Seattle
1999, and up to the recent mobilisations against the US-led war in
Afghanistan.

This movement has grown and shaken governments as well as the capitalist
class. This reflects a questioning of the economic and political system
by broad sections of society today. There is openness for explanations
and answers. While some other Left forces just tail ended the leaders of
this movement, the CWI has fully participated in protests and
demonstrations and also put forward a socialist alternative.

CWI sections have played an important role in the anti-globalisation
protests in Seattle, Washington, Melbourne, Prague, Nice, London,
Gothenburg and others places. In the campaign against the war, the
sections in Germany and Belgium have organised school strikes. The
Swedish section played a leading role in the coalition against the war
in Stockholm.

The next international days of protest are during the EU summit in
Brussels 13-15 December. LSP/MAS, the CWI section in Belgium, has
already been involved in demos against EU meetings in Gent, Leuven and
other cities this autumn. LSP initiated Internationaal Verzet as a youth
campaign. This new organisation organised the school strikes on 19
October. 7,000 school students in 13 cities participated, despite an
intensive campaign from headmasters against the protests.

Comrade Niall summed up the discussion on the anti-capitalist and
anti-war movement. He pointed out that following the collapse of
Stalinism and the shift to the right of the social democracies in the
1990s, the CWI had kept its head, and, in fact, had foreseen the
development of a radical anti-capitalist consciousness amongst youth.

The IEC meeting decided to back the launch of International Socialist
Resistance, which links youth movements in different countries, such as
the Belgian Internationaal Verzet, the ISR in Britain, Elevkampanjen in
Sweden, and Widerstand International in Germany.

Latin America

André from the Brazilian section, SR, was the main speaker in this
session, giving an extensive picture and analysis of recent developments
on the continent.

He reminded the meeting of the spectacular movement in Ecuador in the
beginning of 2000. A "peoples’ parliament" was created, which included
the indigenous peasants, and public sector and oil workers. The mass
revolt toppled the country’s president. But without clear political
leadership for the working class, the ruling class was able to hold onto
power through the vice president and have since forced through a
dollarisation of the economy. However, the mass resistance has
continued. A general strike in February 2001 forced the government to
make concessions.

A similar process has taken place in Bolivia, with a recent rebellion
against water privatisation in Cochacamba. This was led by the
‘Coordination for Water and Life’ and it used methods of mass revolts.
Finally, the government had to put the privatisation plans on hold.

The key country in Latin America today is Argentina. André gave a number
of economic statistics: unemployment and part time unemployment is 50%,
every hour another 30 people fall below the poverty line, and every 4
minutes someone becomes unemployed.

It is a crisis of a neo-liberal "economic model" and part of the crisis
of the whole neo-colonial world. Mass uprisings and general strikes have
taken place in response. Due to the deepening crisis the general strikes
have become less peaceful in character, with mass pickets and blockades
of highways. The government and establishment are in severe
difficulties. Government ministers have come and gone, the vice
president has resigned and other crises have shaken the main parties.
The trade union tops have tried to hold back struggle and to go for
negotiations. This has led to new explosions from below, with people
taking to the streets.

The most important new feature is "the picketers’ organisation", an
organisation of unemployed, who have organised mass pickets, including
against the police. The most advanced struggle took place in the Salta
region when a 36-hour general strike was called in November 2000. The
police station was occupied after the death of a worker, and others
symbols of power were attacked.

The ‘Committees of Picketers’ have now started to include those who have
work. A national ‘Assembly of Pickets’ included representatives from the
national trade union federation, the CGT, which is on its way to merging
with the other federation, the CTA. At the conference there was a great
deal of criticism of the unions.

The Argentinean election results reflected the general turmoil. The
government alliance received only 22%, losing 5.5 million votes. The
main bourgeoisie opposition, the Peronists, lost 1.2 million votes but
gained in percentage because of the increase in blank votes. In fact,
the blank votes were the "winners" in the capital, Buenos Aires. A new
party, ‘Action for Republic of Equals’, which is close to the CTA, won
7.7%. The revolutionary Left, divided into four different lists, got
over one million votes and three representatives into parliament. In
Buenos Aires, they received over 20%. In provincial elections in Cordoba
in September, the Left won 90, 000 votes and 9 regional deputies.

The ruling class in Argentina face a very fragile situation. They will
not be able to pay 2 billion dollars on interest rates that are due in
December, which in practise means a default. The government has failed
in implementing cuts in the regions and new state deficits are therefore
most likely. The IMF and the US now only try to avoid total collapse.
Any "controlled restructuring" of the debts would mean non-payment. A
former adviser to Finance Minister Cavalho advocates a "3-D" policy:
default, devaluation and dollarisation. The crisis may lead to a new
government of "national unity" being created, including the Peronists,
to implement drastic measures.

In Brazil, the bourgeoisie are warning of a possible PT (workers’ party)
victory in the presidential elections next year, meaning PT leader and
former metal worker Lula becoming president. Brazil is totally dependent
on foreign capital (the debt share of GDP is higher than in Argentina).
The crisis has already started to hit, and has led to struggle. When
Volkswagen announced that 3,000 out of 16,000 workers in Sao Paolo would
be sacked, it was immediately answered with a strike and the proposals
were withdrawn. There is also a four months’ strike movement among civil
servants whose wages have been frozen for seven years. The central and
regional governments are restricted by a new "budget responsibility"
law, which means they can be arrested for budget deficits. The PT mayors
have collapsed under this law and accepted cuts. The PT holds mayors in
six regional capitals. The CWI section, SR, advocates a socialist
alternative to Lula within the PT. Lula himself has promised the ruling
class that he will not threaten their interests. Still, a victory for
Lula would be turning point in Brazil and the whole of Latin America.

The discussion included a very interesting contribution from Andres from
Chile on the latest developments there.

Arne and Per-Åke from Sweden both spoke on the Argentinean peg that
connects the peso to the US dollar, and the trend towards devaluation.
They said the main question is why the peg is still there. One reason is
that most debts in Argentina (70%) are in dollar values. A devaluation
leading to bankruptcies and a bank collapse could trigger social
upheavals. It would also mean an extremely humiliating loss of prestige
- and possible power - for the government. At the same time, the
Brazilian example shows that devaluation is no way out.

Tony Saunois from the IS said that the Argentinean example carries
important lessons for the euro. It shows the possibility of the break up
of that currency in the long term.

Nigeria

The Nigerian CWI section has grown rapidly over the last few years and
is now the second biggest in the CWI, after England and Wales. The print
run of the party paper has doubled and a number of party branches have
been formed in new regions.

Three Nigerian speakers gave reports in this session. There was also a
contribution on South Africa.

"Nothing has fundamentally changed with the civilian rule which was
introduced in Nigeria 1999", said comrade Segun in his introduction. The
IMF has put its mark on the economic policies of this government, with
privatisations of electricity, telecom and oil. The government has
gained from a higher oil price, but this will now change. State income
will drop by one-third next year.

The country lacks necessary infrastructure. That restricts foreign
investment to a low level despite the cheap labour. A protectionist mood
is now building up, not only from unions but from companies as well. But
the economy is more controlled from abroad than ever before. Corruption
is just as endemic as before.

This has escalated the political, religious and national crises. The
country has more than 200 national ethnical groups. The present
conflicts are a result of the economic crisis and conflicts between
different groups in the ruling elite. A British BBC reporter concluded
that the fighting is not primarily about religion but a "conflict about
agriculture, electricity and assets when resources are too few". This
has resulted in the introduction of Sharia laws in two Northern regions,
as well as a growth in Christian fundamentalism amongst the middle
classes. The fundamentalists tell people "you can become rich if you
believe".

The two and a half years of civilian rule has been met with one general
strike so far. Last year workers struck against rising petroleum prices.
The strike had widespread support in almost all layers in society. The
government was forced to retreat on this issue.

The CWI in Nigeria, the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), is involved
in both union struggles and working in the student field. The DSM is the
only Left wing organisation that stands for the right of
self-determination for all oppressed nations, while at the same time
advocating a united socialist Nigeria. DSM has members from both
Christian and Muslim backgrounds.

One Nigerian speaker explained that only three parties are allowed to
contest the elections. All three were established by the military. The
trade union federation, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), is now
discussing forming a social democratic party. The NLC showed its
strength in the general strike but is generally blocking further
struggles of workers.

Some questions were raised on the programme of the DSM regarding a
‘socialist confederation’ and what position to take in the next election.

In his sum up of the discussion, comrade Rotimi said that the DSM uses
the slogan ‘for a socialist confederation’ in the last elections, he
said that the DSM advocated a boycott. The DSM’s attitude towards the
next election depends upon a number of concrete factors, including
whether any new parties will be allowed to stand, and also their social
composition and programmes.

On South Africa, comrade Weizmann explained that the ANC-led government
is following a crude neo-liberal policy. Public education is being
privatised and the government is driving through a savage programme of
cuts. Big corruption scandals have been exposed in the government. The
Triple Alliance, made up of the ANC, Cosatu trade union federation, and
the Communist party, the SACP, is shaken by tensions that could lead to
Cosatu departing the Alliance. SACP ministers are in charge of, for
example, the privatisation programme and the adoption of WTO rules.

The AIDS crisis is devastating. The HIV/AIDS virus infects around 20% of
the population. President Mbeki is still denying the link between HIV
and AIDS, thereby alienating himself from the masses. There is also a
serious problem with widespread rape and child abuse.

The general strike in August mobilised 5.5 million workers and was a
serious blow to the Triple Alliance. The political vacuum on the Left
allows fertile ground for the growth of the idea of a new mass workers’
party. The CWI in South Africa, the Democratic Socialist Movement, calls
for the creation of such a party.

Europe

Per Olsson (IS), in his introduction to the discussion on Europe,
compared today’s economic crisis with the claims by many pundits at the
beginning of this year that the US economic crisis would not affect
Europe. He examined the special crisis of European capitalism, which is
now coming to the fore.

This year saw a massive general strike against "pension reform" in
Greece. But the situation in Europe is also marked by the lack of a
leadership for workers and independent organisations of the working
class. In France there has been localised, advanced strikes and
struggles. In many countries, local transport and education has been
fields of struggle. This reflects the existing mood against
privatisation and neo-liberal policies.

With the deepening of the crisis, we can expect rapid changes. This has
been the case in Italy and in Spain. Anger has led to strikes that have
been directed against union leaders as well. In Italy the Left within
the trade unions has called for national strike action. A similar
development took place during this year’s rail strike in the Netherlands.

Jobs are now lost with extreme speed all over Europe. Even in Ireland,
which has experienced a prolonged boom over the last ten years, 10 000
workers have been sacked so far this year.

Per stressed that the euro is a political and economic project,
originating from the political balance of forces between the European
states, and also a result of the pressure from multinationals to form a
more competitive block. The project goes ahead despite popular
resistance and a worsening crisis.

Per quoted the London ‘Independent’ newspaper, which stated that the
euro is launched at the worse possible time. The question now is whether
the euro will survive, and Per’s conclusion was that it would not last
for a long time. It will reinforce the divergences within the euro zone
and will function as a straightjacket during economic crisis. He did not
exclude enlargement of the EU, but underlined the complications,
particularly the question of who is going to pay for it.

The political situation in Europe is extremely fluid, with sharp swings
in the polls. In France, Arlette, the Lutte Ovriere candidate for
Presidential elections, has more than 6% in opinion polls, which is
ahead of the Communist Party. In Norway, the richest country of all in
Europe, the ruling social democrats were recently voted out of office,
in their worst result for 80 years. In the Danish elections, which took
place during the IEC meeting, the social democrats lost their position
as the biggest party for the first time since 1920. In that election
campaign, all main parties conducted a racist campaign, attacking
immigrants and refugees. Still, the Left wing Red Green Alliance got
6.6% in the capital, Copenhagen, and maintained four of its five MPs.

In this discussion, 15 comrades contributed. Els (Belgium) spoke about
the lessons of the bankruptcy of Sabena, where the struggle ended after
initial militant protests. The government is offering no "social plan"
as they did when Renault closed their factory in 1997.

Elin (Sweden) dealt with the total support of the EU states for the
Afghan war and the creation of the ‘Rapid Reaction Force’. She also
reported on the state’s judicial follow-up of the anti-capitalist
protests in Gothenburg. Prison sentences of up to 4 years for activists
have been meted out.

Kevin (Ireland) said the end of the incredible economic growth in
Ireland, peaking at 10.5% at the end of 2000, is finally finished. This
is best symbolised by the crisis at Aer Lingus. "People are absolutely
stunned by the crisis, and it could take some time until bigger struggle
breaks out". Despite no major struggles yet, consciousness is rapidly
changing. All establishment parties are in decline and the Socialist
Party (CWI section in Ireland) is in a good position to make gains in
next year’s general elections. The party already has one Member of
Parliament, Joe Higgins, and will be fighting hard to get a big vote in
other constituencies, especially for Clare Daly in Dublin North.

Philip (Scotland) reported on the arrival of the economic downturn in
Scotland, combined with further proposed privatisations of for example
council flats in Glasgow.

Judy (England and Wales) told the meeting about Railtrack being taken
into government hands. This ended a spectacular privatisation failure
that led to both accidents and chaos on the railways throughout Britain.
Despite this, the proposal of privatisation of the London underground
has so far not withdrawn by Downing Street.

Alex (France) stressed that there are struggles taking place in France
at present, but that they are isolated and that the union leaderships
never back such struggles. The political vacuum was made obvious in an
opinion poll which found that 36% of respondents answered that neither
the Left nor the Right could solve social problems. During the war
against Afghanistan, both the communist party and the
"anti-globalisation" movement in France were paralysed and have
organised no real opposition.

Petr (Czech Republic) dealt with the phenomena in East European politics
of short-lived populism. The ‘Freedom Coalition’ in the Czech Republic
received 30% in the elections four years ago, but did not achieve
parliamentary representation this year.

Arne (Sweden) stated that he did not believe the break-up of the euro
zone is likely in the near future. He quoted Tony Blair commenting that
Britain needs to join the euro. Arne pointed to the prospect of ongoing
globalisation, despite a reversal of trends regarding trade and FDI. He
pointed to the possibility of a "big bang" of 10 East European countries
joining the EU and the Russia’s preparations for WTO-entry and further
expansion of NATO.

Peter Hadden (Ireland) reported on the dramatic recent developments in
Northern Ireland, including the reasons behind IRA decommissioning and
the widening sectarian gulf on the ground.

Clare Doyle (IS) gave a picture of growing class struggle in Italy and
the role of the new right wing government.

Per-Åke (Sweden) said the fact that the euro had been working since 1999
meant that it would require a crisis of Argentinean proportions to cause
it to break-up.

Sascha (Germany) reported that despite the serious German economic
slowdown, the social democracy sticks to neo-liberal policies. There is
a strong mood for wage rises and this will come up in negotiations in
early 2002. There is growing alienation and polarisation within the
trade unions. "One union struggle, one spark, could lead to a bigger
movement in Germany", Sascha said. He warned that the new right wing
party in Hamburg, the ‘Party in Defence of the Constitution’, and its
leader, Schiller, could become a federal force. The party has reached
19% in opinion polls in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt.

The discussion on Europe was summarised by Tony Saunois (IS). He
highlighted the important defensive workers’ struggles that have broken
out recently. Some of these struggles have also shown the depth of anger
from workers towards the ineffective, right wing trade union leaders.
For example, during the Autumn a march by workers’ facing job losses in
Seville, in Spain, ended up with some of them attacking trade union
leaders with placards!

Referring to Swedish comrades saying that globalisation is not about to
end, Tony replied that no one believed in an abrupt end. He asked: will
globalisation be checked and reversed? Even now, certain aspects of the
trends of the 90s have been weakened. The direction is towards
protectionism and the break-up of the euro.

The building of the CWI

Clare Doyle (IS) reported on the progress of a number of sections. There
is a growing request for the CWI to mobilise for events, including for
demos and campaigns. We are getting many more requests for information
via the Internet. New CWI groups are being established in various parts
of the world, including Italy, Finland and Kashmir. Substantial growth
in membership continues in Nigeria, Ukraine and Israel. Key European
sections have moved into new offices in Berlin, Brussels and Athens, and
also in Santiago, Chile. Paper sales have increased in most CWI
sections, with record sales in India and Nigeria. Impressive financial
collections at national congresses have been recorded in 2001, including
at the Socialist Alternative congress in the US and during the Irish
Socialist Party congress.

The discussion on building the CWI included a number of reports from the
sections. CWI sections have played an important role in a number of
struggles: the EU-protests in Sweden and Belgium; against privatisation
and tuition fees in Britain; anti-privatisation campaigning in South
Africa; ‘Students without Education’ (MSE), which is a new movement in
Brazil; university occupation in Thessaloniki in Greece; intervention in
a textile strike in Bangalore, India, to mention some of them.

Impressive reports were given of work in the unions in Brazil, Ireland,
England and Wales, and other countries. The same was the case with youth
work in Belgium, Greece, Germany, Australia and Sweden. The CWI work in
Scotland, France and South Africa has been re-organised over the last
few years and is now moving ahead on a clear political basis. In Sri
Lanka, the main emphasis now is the election campaign with the CWI
section United Socialist Party (USP) running 130 candidates.

This session also discussed themes such as youth work, the need to make
professional the work of the sections, and political education. In a
number of cases the lack of resources - meaning both experienced members
and money - is blocking the possibilities for growth. These challenges
were debated fully, with experiences given from different sections. The
need to break with routines and seize opportunities in the new period
was stressed. That goes for targets, recruitment and methods, campaign
initiatives. A new generation of working class cadres will be formed in
struggle. The parties of the CWI have to use new methods to combine mass
work with political education and party building.

To ensure more resources for the international work, a special appeal
fund was agreed. That will be used for visits, including to Brazil, Asia
and African countries.

The number of people interested in the CWI is growing in most sections.
In Germany alone, there are new members in eight cities. New party
branches can be built in these areas. In Belgium, the section has grown
by 50% this year. Oleg (CIS) reported that the CIS section has also
grown, and particularly in the Ukraine.

"It is years since this spread of growth has been reported", concluded
Tony Saunois (IS) in closing the meeting.

The IEC meeting unanimously agreed to organise the next world congress
of the CWI in the autumn of 2002.

Two new members - one each from France and South Africa - were co-opted
to the IEC. The re-organised French section was accepted as a full CWI
section.

This meeting was extremely fruitful, emphasising the new turning point
in the world situation since September 11, including the global economic
crisis.

Finally, soberly optimistic reports and targets showed that the CWI is
well prepared, politically and organisationally for the challenges and
opportunities of the next year.